When you enter The Gutter, the grungy, old-school bowling alley on 14th Street in Williamsburg, your night can go one of two ways, you can veer to the right and drink a pitcher of American lager™  and have your night punctuated by the sound of crashing pins, or you go left past the bathrooms stalls and enter The Spare Room, the brick-lined event space where show producer Reuben D. recently partnered with VJ and video artist Space Octopus to bring a night of rock n’ rap featuring four acts sure to make their name on stages across Brooklyn. 

Opening the night was The Fictionals, led by identical twins Cameron and Liam Wright alongside Jesús Menacho. The trio were giving an early-Obama Brooklyn nostalgia that would make you think Marnie and Hannah were just to your right. Cameron and Liam in flannels, loose button-ups, and a chunky red scarf, while Jesús, in a loose-fitting red tie and slim-fit gray blazer, added an aesthetically different but still very late aughts look to the stage. Joining them on the drums was a friend filling in and according to their Instagram, they are very much still looking for a permanent fixture on percussion. 

They set the tone for the night with dreamy and distorted progressions that flowed between thrashing and floating. Lyrically, they found a home with the crowd, “again foolishly thinking the roulette will spin, and have this evening be the one to win this time. Oh my god, I need relief from my nine-to-five” the band sings on Roulette, you could see people shake the Bourgeois-bohème off their shoulders along with the snow. 

The second rock act of the show was Ace Bandage, a post-punk jam band that made us ponder the question, “what if Blink 182 was also Phish?” Undeniably groovy and undeniably cool, this was a band that clearly enjoyed playing together, their chemistry led to the type of improv heavy jamming that pulled the audience along with them. The drummer led the melodies so well, it felt like a professional jazz show at times, with everyone following the beat and moving with it. 

With a killer cover of Once Upon A Time in the West by Dire Straits, Ace Bandage got the audience moving. One fan even walked over to the speaker, closed his eyes and reverently placed his hand on it to feel the groove even better. A woman danced feverishly in a cropped black shirt and leather pants which, despite no one else coming close to matching her energy, felt completely at home accompanied by stand out songs like “Way Beyond” of their 2024 release “What Moon Songs: Live at Scorpion Records” available on Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp. 

When the stage was broken down, and all the instruments were unplugged and packed away, you noticed how big that stage is without 3+ people and instruments on it. Then Jeayahr, a neo-soul and jazz influenced lyricist stepped on stage. Jeayahr, a New York and Jersey-based artist, producer and musician, with just himself and the microphone filled that space wearing nothing flashier than a beanie and a Danny Phantom shirt. A standout track was a song about dating an OnlyFans model and wrestling with whether that made him a player, or if he was just getting played, a theme and song structure that felt reminiscent of early Childish Gambino. A little angry, a little messy, but honest and introspective.

This set in particular is where the Space Octopus stage design peaked for us. It made Jeayahr seem mystical, gave importance to his set and what he was doing because he was glowing in the warm light of video distortion. It turned every chorus into a mantra and every melody into a jam. There were points throughout the night where the stage design elevated the acts, it made the band members radiant or helped a rhythm wash over the crowd, but the video work paired with Jeayahr’s soulful and melodic songs, brought a level of beauty to his performance that I’m not sure would have been if not for the design. 

The headliner of the night was Raimie, a rapper who filled the room with love and excitement the moment he took the stage. For most of the audience they showed up and showed out for him, despite the fact there was over 3” of snow accumulating on the ground outside. Their energy was incredible, hyping him up with every line, turning his performance into something that felt less like a typical set and more like a genuine moment of community. 

In an Instagram post promoting the show, show producer Reuben Dreiblatt wrote that he and Rezzy were randomly assigned as freshman roommates in college “ I remember the very first day we met and he had me sit down and listen to him freestyle and tell him what I thought. It was a killer flow back then and I said I can’t wait to hear it live, fast-forward 9 years and tomorrow we will all bear witness.” 

What else is there to say? “Genre is a codeword to keep us in our place as artists,” our great Beyoncé said in her Grammy speech this year. True growth comes from breaking out of that place, following what pulls you forward. That night in The Spare Room at The Gutter, the line between rap and rock never felt thinner, blurred not just by sound but by intent. Four talented acts showed up and for a bit of time they gave themselves to the audience to entertain, to excite, and to be judged. The whole night carried an earnestness about it, the kind that lingered with us long after we stumbled out to shockingly quiet streets and started walking towards Bedford Ave to catch the L back to Bushwick.